Whale Wars Begin As Sea Shepherd Discover Whaling Fleet

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At 1,700 nautical miles southeast of New Zealand and 2,300 nautical miles southwest of Chile, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society finally found what they were searching for.

“In the vastness of the Southern Ocean, Sea Shepherd’s ships have now found the Japanese fleet before they even began killing whales,” reads a release. “This is a momentous victory for the whales and precisely how Sea Shepherd’s President and Founder Captain Paul Watson had hoped to ring in the New Year.”

After a late start to the season — and some reported new tactics by the Japanese to spread the fleet over a wider area — it was unclear just how quickly the SS would run into their old nemesis. “Over the last seven campaigns that Sea Shepherd has been harassing them,” the release continues, “the illegal Japanese whalers have proven themselves to be nothing short of predictable and Captain Watson decided they were bluffing.”

On Watson’s Facebook page, the most recent update states that the fleet is one the run and that he expects no whales to be killed today. Next up for the group is to locate the Nisshin Maru factory ship, with the intent to block access and prevent any whales that are killed from being processed. Stay tuned…